Nothing to skip on this one..One of their 4 perfect albums to me along with Hotter,RNR Over+Creatures....2000 Man,Sure Know Something,Dirty Living, Charisma...It's actually underappreciated.
I would love you to comment on this: (I'm 62) I have listened to the Kiss records forever, and find that I don't pay attention to the details. It's more like feelings/memories. But a week ago, I listened to Dynasty in my gym - and for some reason I must have focused differently. Point is: I found that the guitar solos are great. Hard rock. Have I gone insane? It's supposed to be a disco/pop record. Thank you for entertaining us 🙂
Yep. It never sounded like a total disco song. That was the point. The lead is hard rock as it gets. The guitars are distorted. KISS wouldn’t have done a complete disco song like Stayin Alive (great song), but it’s still a disco song with a hard rock sound. And it translates well live like on Alive 3.
Guitars haven't been completely neutered with the personal sensitivity explorations of the Starchild. Ace was still fully engaged, which is what makes Dynasty/Unmasked so interesting to me with his eclipsing of the Demon as the #2 songwriter and vocalist on album.
As one of the KISS fans experiencing in real time- After waiting so long to hear the new Kiss single, IWMFLY on the radio for weeks, I was not as shocking considering we already heard The Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart, and ELO dabbling in dance tunes. Buying the 45 single, I di like the B-side Hard Times better, and not because Ace is my favorite. It sounded like KISS and the single I later found out has that ending NOT on the album. Have vivid memories of getting money in exchange for money for album...On release day I bussed to the record store after school- Taking less than 3 minutes to purchase- then running from bus stop to bus stop not wanting to wait and get closer to home....Having an empty house no siblings no Mom home yet- Blasting on the Home stereo and having to get those dishes, etc DONE! Playing side 1, I was perplexed, liking Ace's perfect choice, rocking remake of the Stones' 2,000 Man, but where was Gene?.....My honest, Initial impression was when I Played Side 2--- I Felt YES This IS KISS! This album seemed like an extension of the Solo Albums where each member had songs representing their tastes and personality. Many agree, Dirty Livin' is a grower (insert 'The Spoiler' joke) and I really have grown to love that song and its street vibe that works conceptually with Hard Times. Yes, by all means, this should have been attempted Live on the 1979 "Return of Kiss Tour" . Can You imagine swapping out 3 solo songs for Charisma, Magic Touch and Dirty Livin' what a set list! Fun show Gentlemen.
Some good points brought up here about this album, yes its glossy and a bit light sounding, but I really like it...and as a kid I don't ever recall saying to myself that this album is not heavy enough or the guitars are not dirty enough...its great I love it.
I'm on board with Mark here; this was my KiSS album entry point (when it came out) so that factors in for sure - but for me Vinnie Poncia's production is excellent. Very clear and both instruments and voices are right up front. (Not sure what happened with Vinnie's production values on 'Unmasked' though as it seems thick and muddy sounding). Very NYC sounding as Mark mentions and song likes Sure Know Sometthing, Hard Times and Dirty Livin' add to that theme. The variety of songs for me adds to it's strengths, AND I thought, Ok. if KISS can do a song like "I Was Made For Loving You' AND still rock on the same album, more power to them - another feather in their cap. It was kind of a perfect Star Child song - great for that 'character'. And don't forget Ace's solo in that song (hope it was him, lol) brilliant! Speaking of Ace - killer songs on Dynasty and the cover of 2000 Man is excellent. Sorry for the paragraph, but I love this album! Iconic Poster! Love the blacked out shirts (straight jackets) - very reminscent of The Beatles.
Great show guys! Sorry I missed the live feed but was occupied. Back in the day I was put off by IWMFLY and left KISS behind. Now I really love the record with side 2 being my favorite. I like the whole record but the tracks I like the least are X-Ray Eyes, Sure Know Something and IWMFLY. IWMFLY should have been a stand alone single and I wish All American Man would have opened Dynasty...100% improvement! Magic Touch is awesome (sorry Julien!) and so is Charisma (sorry Lonnie!)
Mark, you almost had it right about amps used on Dynasty. They primarily used JMP’s during the recording. Paul started using the Master Volume JMP’s the previous year for his solo album so it’s likely the band used them for Dynasty as well. To my ears the guitar tone supports that. I’d say they used the same amps for Unmasked and then switched to JCM800’s for The Elder.
Thanks for the show. I too played side 2 first because of the back cover and still today I prefer it that way too. Still never understood why some album cover tracklistings vary from actual running order.
the reason is because the cover art was done before the album was finished, and back then it was not so simple to go back and re- do it. This is what I heard from someone in the biz; and I think they were talking about Love Gun
PODKISST episode #167 was Backside Dynasty reordering the album with the track listing found on the back: Charisma, Dirty Livin’, Hard Times, I was Made for Loving You, Magic Touch, Save Love, Sure Know Something, X-Ray Eyes, 2000 Man. This makes a better rock album.
I guess you kinda know the quality of the Gene songs when he doesn't get a look-in on side one, lol. That and of course the popularity of Ace's solo album, giving Ace that extra boost.
Gene was ultra distracted during the '78/79/80 era. I think Cher played a bit of a Yoko role by taking Gene's eye off the ball during the 78/79 era. This was the first time Gene went "Hollywood" per se. And Dynasty as a title was a play on "Destroyer" if you look at the album..it shows a bit of maturity and maybe was a commercial attempt at recapturing the Destroyer vibe
Least to highest for me, X-ray Eyes, 2,000 Man, I Was Made.., Hard Times, Dirty Livin’, Sure Know Something, Charisma, Save Your Love and Magic Touch! X-ray Eyes is last but it’s 3 out of 5 stars.
(Fan since 75) My favorite song by far is Magic Touch. My least by far is Dirty Living (It does have a good solo by Ace, its saving grace). I have never liked this version of IWM4LU. I just do not care for its production whatsoever. However, it cannot be denied as the lead single. It was a huge hit for the band and today it is their biggest song. My sister (casual fan as anyone could be) loved this song and bought the 45. She went to the concert. Mission accomplished. I always thought SNSomething was a great 2nd single but I thought 2,000 Man could have been a definite hit and radio playability.
I've read many accounts that Casablanca ordered Aucoin to get the band to produce a disco style song after the solo albums became a huge liability on them. They were bleeding out funds on the band not only from the solo record debacle, but also the money they lost flying the press with KISS to the Japan tour in '77. The label had put more into the band than what they were getting back, so the singles from this record were far more calculated and purposeful for the Label than the band coming about it organically.
Dynasty was my first kiss album so I really love this one . Got it in 79. I was 7. All good songs on it. Iwmfly was my first fav kiss song. It’s still a top 5 kiss album to me. Here’s my ranking according to favs at this time, and no bad songs. Tuff to rank. 1. Magic touch 2. Charisma 3. I was made for loving you 4. Sure know something 5. Save your love 6. Hard times 7. Dirty livin 8. X ray eyes 9. 2000 man Always thought this album needed another Gene song that was darker and a rocker Paul song. This could have have been 2 songs away from the best kiss album in my opinion . Throw in a “love gun” “all american man” or “ I stole your love” on here along with a “deuce” or “god of thunder” and it’s there. I didn’t like that Gene had only 2 songs and Ace had as many as Paul. I think the better balance for this album is 4 songs for Paul, 3 for Gene, 3 for Ace, 1 for Pete . Love the album cover simple and iconic. The poster would have been a good cover as well. The Sonic’s are good, though I hadn’t heard’rock n roll over at the time. And I prefer that sound. A little more crunch, but perfect for what they were going for. Paul hit the target for what he was going for rock- pop perfection. Ace hit the target. As well with straight forward rock. Genes songs are really good just needed another one. Pete was fine with what he did. And after the solo albums I would have preferred this to have a couple more songs on it, maybe even a double album
The main guitar lick on I was Made cooks .. . Great album just at the time a big move in aound production and arrangement plus Peter and Ace moving away from band
Love you guys but come on Julian you know it's just not Paul's decision on who has or what is the first single. Obviously the decision of making IWMFLY the first single was not the wrong one considering it has over a billion plays on CZcams premium as well as Spotify. No way in hell would save all your love ever have gotten that many plays. People were just suffering burnout and the music scene was completely changing as you've noted in the past. But very few of those songs that were quote considered better from Van Halen or ACDC can say they have anywhere close to a billion place.
Oh, without a doubt. There would have been plenty of record label folk deciding that, and Paul was on fire as the leading singer/songwriter in the group. While Ace might have been artistically inspired and contributing, his material was very much more "normal" rather than fresh and new. I did give IWMFLY perfect points though!
@kissfaq yes you did give it props and i wasn't trying to dog you, I just think Paul gets a bad rap in regards to some things, but that just my opinion. I think it's easy to say Paul didn't want this or that but they were all equal partners at the time with management that was very involved. And during the 80s and going forward it was kind of a no brainer because his songs generally had more appeal to a bigger audience. With Revenge it was a different market. But as much as I like Sonic and Monster it was clear Modern Day Delilah was superior....didn't understand Monster cuz I didn't think He'll or Hallelujah was the best. As far as demos that ended up about the same, Paul had many that remained very close to the finished product as well. IMO Paul was always the better by far songwriter, singer and performer of the band. Alone he was great, together they were magic...and Magic touch, Dirty Livin or Charisma would've made great album title
Sorry but I'm no fan of Dynasty, I hated the outfits and I feel it is definetly one of their weaker albums. I don't agree with everyone's glorification of Save your love and Charisma what horrible KISS songs-they sound nothing like KISS and this album is one of the reasons they lost soo many fans. Vinnie Poncia's production was way too poppy for the band when you have bands like AC/DC and Van Halen putting out albums that were far superior to this bubblegum crap. KISS in 1979 looked foolish and sounde just as bad. Their image sucked, the album cover sucked and the music sucked right along with it, 79 was not a good time to be a KISS fan
Nothing to skip on this one..One of their 4 perfect albums to me along with Hotter,RNR Over+Creatures....2000 Man,Sure Know Something,Dirty Living, Charisma...It's actually underappreciated.
Ace rocked on "Dynasty"🎸
I would love you to comment on this: (I'm 62) I have listened to the Kiss records forever, and find that I don't pay attention to the details. It's more like feelings/memories. But a week ago, I listened to Dynasty in my gym - and for some reason I must have focused differently. Point is: I found that the guitar solos are great. Hard rock. Have I gone insane? It's supposed to be a disco/pop record. Thank you for entertaining us 🙂
There are certainly disco influences, but the next album was way softer.
Yup…great solos!
Yep. It never sounded like a total disco song. That was the point. The lead is hard rock as it gets. The guitars are distorted. KISS wouldn’t have done a complete disco song like Stayin Alive (great song), but it’s still a disco song with a hard rock sound. And it translates well live like on Alive 3.
Ace shines on this album more then ever
Guitars haven't been completely neutered with the personal sensitivity explorations of the Starchild. Ace was still fully engaged, which is what makes Dynasty/Unmasked so interesting to me with his eclipsing of the Demon as the #2 songwriter and vocalist on album.
As one of the KISS fans experiencing in real time- After waiting so long to hear the new Kiss single, IWMFLY on the radio for weeks, I was not as shocking considering we already heard The Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart, and ELO dabbling in dance tunes. Buying the 45 single, I di like the B-side Hard Times better, and not because Ace is my favorite. It sounded like KISS and the single I later found out has that ending NOT on the album.
Have vivid memories of getting money in exchange for money for album...On release day I bussed to the record store after school- Taking less than 3 minutes to purchase- then running from bus stop to bus stop not wanting to wait and get closer to home....Having an empty house no siblings no Mom home yet- Blasting on the Home stereo and having to get those dishes, etc DONE! Playing side 1, I was perplexed, liking Ace's perfect choice, rocking remake of the Stones' 2,000 Man, but where was Gene?.....My honest, Initial impression was when I Played Side 2--- I Felt YES This IS KISS!
This album seemed like an extension of the Solo Albums where each member had songs representing their tastes and personality. Many agree, Dirty Livin' is a grower (insert 'The Spoiler' joke) and I really have grown to love that song and its street vibe that works conceptually with Hard Times. Yes, by all means, this should have been attempted Live on the 1979 "Return of Kiss Tour" . Can You imagine swapping out 3 solo songs for Charisma, Magic Touch and Dirty Livin' what a set list! Fun show Gentlemen.
I'm calling this "The Cool Tshirt Episode"! Looking good, fellas
Some good points brought up here about this album, yes its glossy and a bit light sounding, but I really like it...and as a kid I don't ever recall saying to myself that this album is not heavy enough or the guitars are not dirty enough...its great I love it.
I'm on board with Mark here; this was my KiSS album entry point (when it came out) so that factors in for sure - but for me Vinnie Poncia's production is excellent. Very clear and both instruments and voices are right up front. (Not sure what happened with Vinnie's production values on 'Unmasked' though as it seems thick and muddy sounding). Very NYC sounding as Mark mentions and song likes Sure Know Sometthing, Hard Times and Dirty Livin' add to that theme. The variety of songs for me adds to it's strengths, AND I thought, Ok. if KISS can do a song like "I Was Made For Loving You' AND still rock on the same album, more power to them - another feather in their cap. It was kind of a perfect Star Child song - great for that 'character'. And don't forget Ace's solo in that song (hope it was him, lol) brilliant! Speaking of Ace - killer songs on Dynasty and the cover of 2000 Man is excellent. Sorry for the paragraph, but I love this album! Iconic Poster! Love the blacked out shirts (straight jackets) - very reminscent of The Beatles.
Great show guys! Sorry I missed the live feed but was occupied. Back in the day I was put off by IWMFLY and left KISS behind. Now I really love the record with side 2 being my favorite. I like the whole record but the tracks I like the least are X-Ray Eyes, Sure Know Something and IWMFLY. IWMFLY should have been a stand alone single and I wish All American Man would have opened Dynasty...100% improvement! Magic Touch is awesome (sorry Julien!) and so is Charisma (sorry Lonnie!)
Save Your Love is such a Ripper!!!
5star for me!!
@@botboy6977 I feel like people sleep on that song!! Those lil dbl kicks at the end....so simple, so killer.
Cheers guys great Episode ….. Keep Rockin”
Mark, you almost had it right about amps used on Dynasty. They primarily used JMP’s during the recording. Paul started using the Master Volume JMP’s the previous year for his solo album so it’s likely the band used them for Dynasty as well. To my ears the guitar tone supports that. I’d say they used the same amps for Unmasked and then switched to JCM800’s for The Elder.
Thanks for the show. I too played side 2 first because of the back cover and still today I prefer it that way too. Still never understood why some album cover tracklistings vary from actual running order.
the reason is because the cover art was done before the album was finished, and back then it was not so simple to go back and re- do it.
This is what I heard from someone in the biz; and I think they were talking about Love Gun
For most of my life I only listened to side 2. I appreciate side 1 now but side 2 is fantastic!
PODKISST episode #167 was Backside Dynasty reordering the album with the track listing found on the back: Charisma, Dirty Livin’, Hard Times, I was Made for Loving You, Magic Touch, Save Love, Sure Know Something, X-Ray Eyes, 2000 Man. This makes a better rock album.
I guess you kinda know the quality of the Gene songs when he doesn't get a look-in on side one, lol. That and of course the popularity of Ace's solo album, giving Ace that extra boost.
Gene was ultra distracted during the '78/79/80 era. I think Cher played a bit of a Yoko role by taking Gene's eye off the ball during the 78/79 era. This was the first time Gene went "Hollywood" per se. And Dynasty as a title was a play on "Destroyer" if you look at the album..it shows a bit of maturity and maybe was a commercial attempt at recapturing the Destroyer vibe
I think it's too easy to label Gene's beaus as "Yoko." It was Gene's ego, his addiction IMO.
Least to highest for me, X-ray Eyes, 2,000 Man, I Was Made.., Hard Times, Dirty Livin’, Sure Know Something, Charisma, Save Your Love and Magic Touch! X-ray Eyes is last but it’s 3 out of 5 stars.
(Fan since 75) My favorite song by far is Magic Touch. My least by far is Dirty Living (It does have a good solo by Ace, its saving grace). I have never liked this version of IWM4LU. I just do not care for its production whatsoever. However, it cannot be denied as the lead single. It was a huge hit for the band and today it is their biggest song. My sister (casual fan as anyone could be) loved this song and bought the 45. She went to the concert. Mission accomplished. I always thought SNSomething was a great 2nd single but I thought 2,000 Man could have been a definite hit and radio playability.
I've read many accounts that Casablanca ordered Aucoin to get the band to produce a disco style song after the solo albums became a huge liability on them. They were bleeding out funds on the band not only from the solo record debacle, but also the money they lost flying the press with KISS to the Japan tour in '77. The label had put more into the band than what they were getting back, so the singles from this record were far more calculated and purposeful for the Label than the band coming about it organically.
If Charisma was on Revenge Lonnie would love it😂
WOW!
So true. 😂
Save Your Love awesome song, but more a deep track. I think 2.000 Man would have been the one to pick.
Dynasty was my first kiss album so I really love this one . Got it in 79. I was 7. All good songs on it. Iwmfly was my first fav kiss song. It’s still a top 5 kiss album to me. Here’s my ranking according to favs at this time, and no bad songs. Tuff to rank.
1. Magic touch
2. Charisma
3. I was made for loving you
4. Sure know something
5. Save your love
6. Hard times
7. Dirty livin
8. X ray eyes
9. 2000 man
Always thought this album needed another Gene song that was darker and a rocker Paul song. This could have have been 2 songs away from the best kiss album in my opinion . Throw in a “love gun” “all american man” or “ I stole your love” on here along with a “deuce” or “god of thunder” and it’s there. I didn’t like that Gene had only 2 songs and Ace had as many as Paul. I think the better balance for this album is 4 songs for Paul, 3 for Gene, 3 for Ace, 1 for Pete . Love the album cover simple and iconic. The poster would have been a good cover as well. The Sonic’s are good, though I hadn’t heard’rock n roll over at the time. And I prefer that sound. A little more crunch, but perfect for what they were going for. Paul hit the target for what he was going for rock- pop perfection. Ace hit the target. As well with straight forward rock. Genes songs are really good just needed another one. Pete was fine with what he did. And after the solo albums I would have preferred this to have a couple more songs on it, maybe even a double album
The main guitar lick on I was Made cooks .. . Great album just at the time a big move in aound production and arrangement plus Peter and Ace moving away from band
Love you guys but come on Julian you know it's just not Paul's decision on who has or what is the first single. Obviously the decision of making IWMFLY the first single was not the wrong one considering it has over a billion plays on CZcams premium as well as Spotify. No way in hell would save all your love ever have gotten that many plays. People were just suffering burnout and the music scene was completely changing as you've noted in the past. But very few of those songs that were quote considered better from Van Halen or ACDC can say they have anywhere close to a billion place.
Oh, without a doubt. There would have been plenty of record label folk deciding that, and Paul was on fire as the leading singer/songwriter in the group. While Ace might have been artistically inspired and contributing, his material was very much more "normal" rather than fresh and new. I did give IWMFLY perfect points though!
@kissfaq yes you did give it props and i wasn't trying to dog you, I just think Paul gets a bad rap in regards to some things, but that just my opinion. I think it's easy to say Paul didn't want this or that but they were all equal partners at the time with management that was very involved. And during the 80s and going forward it was kind of a no brainer because his songs generally had more appeal to a bigger audience. With Revenge it was a different market. But as much as I like Sonic and Monster it was clear Modern Day Delilah was superior....didn't understand Monster cuz I didn't think He'll or Hallelujah was the best. As far as demos that ended up about the same, Paul had many that remained very close to the finished product as well. IMO Paul was always the better by far songwriter, singer and performer of the band. Alone he was great, together they were magic...and Magic touch, Dirty Livin or Charisma would've made great album title
I do like Xray Eyes ..To me,Save your love was the weakest song on this record .
X-Ray Eyes is the only turd on the album...
Nope, Dirty Livin is the weakest.
And Dirty Livin' is the weakest track on the album.
Sorry but I'm no fan of Dynasty, I hated the outfits and I feel it is definetly one of their weaker albums. I don't agree with everyone's glorification of Save your love and Charisma what horrible KISS songs-they sound nothing like KISS and this album is one of the reasons they lost soo many fans. Vinnie Poncia's production was way too poppy for the band when you have bands like AC/DC and Van Halen putting out albums that were far superior to this bubblegum crap. KISS in 1979 looked foolish and sounde just as bad. Their image sucked, the album cover sucked and the music sucked right along with it, 79 was not a good time to be a KISS fan
1980 must have been a surprise to those who remained... and 1981!